You may have come across the term "Inbound Marketing." It is becoming more widespread, and people are more interested in what Inbound Marketing is and how it can help them. Our definition is:-

Inbound Marketing is the practice of bringing warm, qualified leads into your sales funnel rather than reaching outward to cold, questionable targets.

Traditional "outbound marketing" was focused on methods such as cold calls, print ads, TV and radio commercials, attending tradeshows, etc. The idea behind these techniques was to get in front of cold leads and warm them up to the point where they would try your product or service.

Then marketing was a numbers game - you had to get in contact with a large number of people before one would be interested and purchase. This was inefficient and expensive, causing marketers to waste time getting in contact with lots of people who may have no interest in their offering.

Inbound Marketing is becoming popular as marketers seek efficient and affordable ways to get traffic and leads. Inbound Marketing techniques include blogging, social media interaction, webinars and SEO.

All these inbound methods pre-qualify leads that discover your company, so your message is greeting welcoming ears. By bringing these warm leads into you, you will save time and money on old outbound strategies alone.

Successful inbound marketing is creating great content that will get more traffic to your sales process. Also you must have an optimised site to close leads into deals and engages visitors once they "land" on your website.

One of the best methods is blogging. A blog provides many benefits for your company, and most of them relate to Inbound Marketing. By creating great content, you'll rise in organic search results, create linkable content, and educate your audience. These outcomes help you bring in warm leads that have been pre-qualified through Google search for relevant keywords or by reading similar content linking to you.

Also, there are other channels for content to get more traffic. Webinars, e-books, and microsites all attract leads interested in your offerings and eager to engage with you about your company.

By sticking with Inbound Marketing strategies, you'll continually get more traffic and leads and grow in authority. However, it is not instant. Inbound Marketing saves money, but it takes commitment and patience. You won't be the top Google result for desired terms overnight and your first webinar may only have a few people, but by making a long-term commitment will see results.

Inbound v Outbound marketing to get more traffic

The shift towards Inbound Marketing is driven by new media and technology, which allows the buyer more control. Specifically, the internet, smartphones and social networking sites mean that information, opinions, recommendations or a warning is never far away. Buyers can easily research products and services before buying them and ask social networks for endorsements before decision making.

So the traditional way of pushing via traditional media/methods is being accompanied by pull marketing. The buyer initiates the marketing relationship by actively seeking information. This is nothing new, as search engines have been around for ages. However now it’s the immediacy of activity and the crucial role that social and mobile marketing can play.

Inbound Marketing costs less than traditional marketing. Why try to buy your way when buyers aren’t paying attention? Here are some statistics:-

44% of direct mail is never opened - a waste of time, postage and production.

The cost per lead in outbound marketing is more than inbound marketing.

There is no "magic formula" when it comes to boosting revenue using Inbound Marketing tactics, but there is a process – a step-by-step plan ; easy to understand, effective, and ethical. This will give you more traffic that you can convert into leads and nurture into customers all at a low cost and a high ROI.

However, using the right mix of both Inbound and Outbound can be useful. Why not get our FREE eBook on this topic by clicking the button below.